4 Australians and an SFer in an RV are practically a camp already. Names yourselves and you exist.

You are not required to join a camp, especially if you have some skills. You'll have neighbors no matter what, & being campless frees you up to do exactly what you want, when you want it. But it can be nice for international travelers to have the extra support.

The 2013 Theme Camp forum will get busier in a month or two, so keep watching that space. And you've probably seen the list of last year's Theme Camps on the main site, at the top . . . ? If not, check it out. Some of those camps will return . . . email them and see.

*** 2013 Survival Guide ***"I must've lost it when I was twerking at the trash fence." -- BBadger

And thanks Savannah, great tip on the camp list on the main site. So many! We'll also keep an eye out on the eplaya as the months progress.

Our main attraction to a theme camp is to quickly meet and greet like minded people. I know it will be easy to do this at most of BM but it could be cool to really get to know and share with some new friends.

Hello, I'm Cath, from Portland OR, hoping to participate in Burning Man for my first time this year.... if I can get a ticket that is, but I am optimistic with STEP starting this week! I first heard about BM ~10 years ago, shortly after moving to Portland from Australia. My neighbors had built a mutant vehicle and were heading for the playa. I've been mighty intrigued ever since. For some reason, this year it suddenly occurred to me, why not GO? And the decision was made! Amazingly, just the decision itself has me energized, and the preliminary planning is fun! At the moment, I'm especially interested in ideas for building shade structures (I like the monkey huts) and swamp coolers! I'm a little apprehensive about what I can contribute at BM, because I really want to be helpful and involved, yet I'm not an artist or an architect or electronics wizard. (I'm a neuroscientist, sheltered within the ivory tower of academia, ...not sure how useful that background will be on the playa). One practical thing I can do though is bike repairs and tuneups. I also like cooking and helping to build stuff (even if I'm not the one creating the brilliant plan). I will attend some of the Portland Burning Man project nights (I think there is one this weekend), and maybe I will be able to join a group, or at least help on their project.I was hoping to pull together a camp with some fellow Portlanders, but so far my camp consists only of myself. In any event, I am looking forwarded to meeting fellow burners and other adventuresome, creative, nonconformist folk. - Cath

I don't know what neuroscience is best for on the playa either (surely something) but being able to do bike repairs and tuneups is quite valuable. Don't be shy about mentioning it when you list your playa skills. Bike repair camps actually have to limit their hours because otherwise, the visitors never stop. Repairs (or a few spare bike tubes + repairs) are a great gift. But just the know-how is often enough.

*** 2013 Survival Guide ***"I must've lost it when I was twerking at the trash fence." -- BBadger

Hey Cath, and welcome. This will be my first year and I'm building the lovemonkey monkey hut, plus a section (four ribs). It was really quite easy, and I'm not much of a handy person. Once I get this finalized I will be building the bucket cooler also. Seems easy enough, at least with all the pics and guidance that has been posted here.

In terms of participation, it doesn't have to be a mutant vehicle, art car, art installation, free pancakes etc (though free buttermilk pancakes are always nice). You can participate by picking up MOOP, hugging a stranger, helping someone who is lost, dressing up, engaging people, etc.

Conversation is definitely participation. I'm sure if I were in the right mind state I would be entranced listening to an explanation of neuroscience and how it is helping society

Savannah - the link to regional Portland burner events is really helpful. I've just signed up for the regional email list. Thanks!

Hi Earthwalker - Is this really your first Burn? I'm so impressed that you have already experimented with building a monkey hut!! So far I've just been looking at stuff on the internet. When Spring is here (and my back yard is less soggy), I'm going to have a try. Are you using Aluminet?

Hey Cath. I'm not positive what I'm going to use. The four main choices that I've seen are:

aluminetvinyl billboard tarpheavy duty gret tarpshade cloth

I'm fine paying aluminet prices if it really is the best option. I"m almost at that point, mainly b/c MyDearFriend recommended it and her MGs look awesome; plus some people that camp with her said it worked out very well. BUT..the majority of the people say the much less expensive grey tarp works just fine. I've ruled out the billboard tarp; too heavy and bulky, and some say it smells. Shade cloth seems like a decent middle of the road option: not as expensive as aluminet, but allows for airflow still

There is solid aluminet, hard to get in the usa.Silvicool is sold in canadia.May be the same.Aluminet comes in different ratios.Note that those ratios are not the same as infrared passed.

Mirrored mylar has been glued to tarps or sheet plastic.

Ideal is 100% block of heat.I found the sides were critical for bounced light.Yes, there are exotic light materials.I found it took two layers of my seemingly opaque billboard material for direct sun blocking.

Better tarps use a black or metallic layer to block light/heat.

The costly 3M film can be used on a windshield to transmit 50% light, block 80-90% heat.

Hi everybody! My name is Kat in the regular world, but on the playa you can call me Paul Revere. This year will be my second trip home to BRC. I live in Arcata, CA and am known to be "a bit strange," as one person put it. I'm actually just a quiet, middle-aged extroverted introvert who does photoshoots with barbies. Once again this year, I have been unable to rustle up a friend to go home with me, so I'm doing the solo thing again. My favorite place to live in BRC is around 5:20 and K, and that's where I plan to be this year. I'll be the little cobbled together shade structure with the Springbar tent and some barbies lurking about. I didn't see nearly enough on my first time in 2011, so this time I'm planning to caffeinate more and sleep less. For an old lady who usually goes to bed before 9pm, that's a major commitment, but with probably only being able to afford to go every other year until I die, I need to push my own envelope. Being a little on the shy side, and camping solo, I didn't do as much as I would have liked to last time, but I did manage to participate in a few things and meet some great people. I'm not ready to commit in advance for volunteer stuff, but this year I hope to do a little off-the-cuff volunteering. My ultimate goal in that is to become part of the post-event cleanup crew that stays for the next month. I can't do that now because I am a caretaker for my mother and only get a week at BRC before going home to relieve my husband. When mom moves on out of this world, I'll be free to commit to SO MUCH MORE. I'd love to meet as many people as possible this year, so I will be wandering around saying hi. You are welcome to stop by my camp if I'm home. I might even have a spare beer in the cooler.

Hi Savannah! My husband is a dear. After over 6 years of taking care of my live-in mother, we have worked out a system of alternate departures. We can only manage 2 or 3 weeks a year of being gone together, and the rest of the time we take turns. Hubster knows how much Burning Man means to me. My son was murdered in 2009, and over the next year or so, I made some changes in my life, including embracing things I had put off. Burning Man moved to the top of my list, and now I count the days when I get to go home to BRC. The loneliness of solo camping is easily offset by all of the wonders on the playa. Last time I spent a little too much time doing photoshoots for my barbie blog, so this year I'm claiming more time for ME. So much to do, so many people to meet!

Last time I was at BRC, I donated some beat up barbies and barbie parts to the Death Camp. This year I've promised to come by with Paul Revere in his convertible. Maybe he can give rides to the doomed barbies. And I have more barbies to donate to them. The day I stopped by to get a glass of wine at the bistro, it was right in the middle of a nude pub crawl, and the line was long long long. I had to settle for gabbing with lots of naked men. This year my sister was supposed to come with me, but can't make it. We were going to bring the barbie party bus and turn it into a mini-mutant vehicle. I'm leaving the bus home this year since sister can't come with me. I don't want to use Paul's convertible for a mutant vehicle because I don't want to beat it up too much. If I can rig a little trailer for it that I can hook to my bike, then Paul can make the rounds without trashing his car. (yes, I did tell you I'm "a bit strange"). Last time at BRC, several of my barbies did some bodypaint and joined me in the Critical Tits event. We had fun.I read the "rules of the forum" pretty fast. Can I post a picture?

Savannah wrote:Weirdly enough, there are no flame wars at the Meet & Greet.

Hmmm... Yeah, I should probably start one...

Oo. Did we once talk about live action ePlaya? I keep feeling like we might have at one time or another.

We need emoticons on sticks.

A couple of friends of mine once waved emoticons on sticks around my favorite dance club all night. It was delightful.

mytripod wrote:Last time I was at BRC, I donated some beat up barbies and barbie parts to the Death Camp. This year I've promised to come by with Paul Revere in his convertible. Maybe he can give rides to the doomed barbies. And I have more barbies to donate to them. The day I stopped by to get a glass of wine at the bistro, it was right in the middle of a nude pub crawl, and the line was long long long. I had to settle for gabbing with lots of naked men. This year my sister was supposed to come with me, but can't make it. We were going to bring the barbie party bus and turn it into a mini-mutant vehicle. I'm leaving the bus home this year since sister can't come with me. I don't want to use Paul's convertible for a mutant vehicle because I don't want to beat it up too much. If I can rig a little trailer for it that I can hook to my bike, then Paul can make the rounds without trashing his car. (yes, I did tell you I'm "a bit strange"). Last time at BRC, several of my barbies did some bodypaint and joined me in the Critical Tits event. We had fun.I read the "rules of the forum" pretty fast. Can I post a picture?

Yes, you may.

If you're in the picture, I recommend this thread:Faces to go with names, 2012/13 Edition

I wrote some notes to him at the temple. I think I'll bring some pictures of him this year for the temple. I always laugh when I think about the obnoxious things he would probably say about Burning Man.

Hi everyone, my name is Christian, from sunny Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.I've been to many festivals, a lot of xxxxxtremely hot ones, like Boom in Portugal and Universo Paralello in Brazil, so I don't think the heat will be much of a problem for me while in the desert. The sand, the storms and the weird climate, well... that's another story.

I've already introduced myself here (viewtopic.php?f=95&t=63862), so, hmmm... well, that's it. Hope I can be there and meet all you guys in the Playa.

good day to the lovely inhabitants of the playa. i am dreams, me and my lovely lady Poka Princess are joining you all for our first burning man experience ever.Well we don't have tickets yet. We are manifesting our tickets we know we are going, the universe is pulling us in that direction. We cannot wait to experience the one and only BURNING MAN!!!